Latest news with #InformationTechnology-EnabledServices
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Karnataka's proposed 10-hour work shifts: What you need to know
The story so far: The Karnataka government has proposed to bring an amendment to the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, 1961, to increase the daily working hours to 10 from the current nine hours, besides allowing more overtime hours. What is Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, 1961? The Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, 1961 is a law that governs working hours and labour conditions in shops and commercial establishments in the State. It sets the legal framework for how long employees can work, and how overtime, records, and compliance are handled. What are the key amendments? The new amendment aims to simplify procedures like record-keeping and certification, especially for smaller establishments. Supporters of the move believe it will enhance the ease of doing business and legitimise working-hour patterns that are already in practice. The work hours can be increased to 10 hours a day and 48 hours a week. The total number of hours of work, including overtime, shouldn't be more than 12 hours a day. An employee can work overtime for 144 hours in a period of three continuous months. At present, it is 50 hours. Firms with employees fewer than 10 are exempted from this Act. Who will benefit from the amendment? The biggest beneficiaries of the proposed amendment to this Act will be companies in the Information Technology and Information Technology-Enabled Services (IT & ITES) sectors. These include businesses offering software services, backend IT operations, hardware sales, and similar services. These companies are expected to benefit from the formal extension of working hours and the easing of compliance burdens. What are the concerns? Trade unions argue that the move legalises existing violations and could lead to exploitation of workers, including wage theft, due to poor enforcement mechanisms and staff shortages in the Labour Department. The law is ambiguous on increasing the wage proportional to the increased work hours. Which other states have 10-hour work shifts? After the Union government passed four Labour Codes in 2019 and 2020 that allowed increasing the work hours, the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand have passed legislations. Recently, Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approved increasing work hours to 10 per day. (With inputs from Sharath Srivatsa)
The Hindu
10 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
IT, ITES sectors to benefit the most with 10-hour shifts
Among the biggest beneficiaries of the amendment being proposed to the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, 1961, will be hundreds of companies in the Information Technology and Information Technology-Enabled Services (IT & ITES) sectors offering software services, backend IT services and hardware sales, among others. The State government has proposed to increase the daily working hours to 10 from the current nine hours, besides allowing more overtime hours. A meeting is being held on Wednesday to discuss the proposals. 'The amendment will legitimise the violation of working hours that is already happening in the sector,' said Meenakshi Sundaram, general secretary, CITU, Karnataka, calling it at attempt to 'legalise the illegal act'. Succumbing to pressure Trade unions argued that this was being pushed by the Centre. Mr. Sundaram, said, 'It is unfortunate that the Congress government is not trying to establish a different policy from that of the BJP government. It is succumbing to the pressure of the Centre and compromising the basic rights of the citizens of Karnataka.' Pointing out to a similar exercise by the State government for the factory workers in the State, he said that this would only reduce employment generating potential while helping only profit making. 'Their idea of to keep shops and establishments for long hours hoping to increase the turnover. However, people do not have purchasing capacity. Instead, the government should work towards increasing the income of people.' Mr. Sundaram said that the government has allowed simplification of record maintenance, certification and book maintenance among others. The absence of a strict compliance and monitoring, AITUC State secretary M. Satyananda said, could lead to 'wage theft' where employers could force employees to work for longer hours without increasing wages. 'How can the Labour Department, which faces staff shortage, inspect thousands of commercial establishments? There will be no mechanism to monitor. Increasing hours would reduce the rest period for workers as well,' he said. 'Ease of doing business' Taking a contrary view, president of Karnataka Employers' Association B.C. Prabhakar said that it would help in 'ease of doing business' by exempting establishments employing less than 10 persons from submitting documents. 'In Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand, the exemption for submitting annual returns has been exempted to establishments that hire less than 20 persons,' said Mr. Prabhakar. He said that increase in the cap for daily working hours and extra overtime is a 'progressive measure.' 'It legitimises what is already going on,' he said.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Tumakuru woos Bengaluru's tech companies with ready office space
Bengaluru: Bengaluru over-saturated? Relocate to Tumakuru. Neighbouring Tumakuru City — 60km from tech capital by road — has made a strong pitch offering ready-to-occupy space for Bengaluru-based Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology-Enabled Services (ITeS) companies to shift en bloc or set up branches. To start with, Tumakuru district administration has started collecting data on the number of IT professionals who daily commute from Tumakuru to Bengaluru. On Monday, Tumakuru administration posted a datasheet on social-media platforms with an appeal to techies to mention the names of companies they work for and the frequency of travel between two cities. The district administration has received overwhelming support from techies. "In less than two days of posting on 'X', we received details about 150 various IT companies operating in different parts of Bengaluru. We will discuss this with the IT department director Rahul SS and reach out to these companies via emails. If any company is interested in shifting or starting operations in Tumakuru, they can reach out to us directly," Tumakuru deputy commissioner Subha Kalyan said. On the rationale behind collecting details, the DC said the plan was to urge these companies to set up branches or completely shift operations to Tumakuru. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo "As per estimates, over 5,000 techies from Tumakuru travel to Bengaluru daily. This could be more. Hence, we decided to have an open house for collecting data and formally reach out to those companies," Subha said. Meticulous planning has gone into this shift-to-Tumakuru plan. "We discussed this plan in detail with IT secretary Ekroop Caur and Sanjeev Gupta, CEO of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, also visited the city and inspected the availability of infrastructure. Tumakuru has prospects of hosting software companies and IT industries. Accessing the Kempegowda International Airport from Tumakuru is easier with dedicated roads cutting through the hinterland. Suiting the needs of IT companies that look out for plug-and-play or coworking space, kind of office space, we have ready infrastructure at the heart of the city," Subha said. The DC said work on phases 4, 5, and 6 of the industrial township at Vasanthanarasapura on the outskirts of Tumakuru city is nearing completion and has ample provision to accommodate software and IT industries. Subha highlighted the perks that await the companies on shifting to Tumakuru: Companies can save on monthly rentals, transportation, and other expenditures.
